Second Lieutenant Laurin Preston Otting (O-780702) was born on September 6, 1924 in Austin, Travis County, Texas, to Gustav Fred “Gus” and Lola James Otting. His father died in 1934 when Laurin was 14, and his mother died in 1939 when he was 19. He was raised by relatives from then on. Laurin had three brothers and six sisters.

He attended schools in Austin, then graduated from Weimar, Texas, High School, where he was in the Boy Scouts, Class President, Editor of the School newspaper and lettered in basketball and football. He attended the University of Texas in Austin for six months. He was single when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces on December 12, 1942. He had his Primary training at Thunderbird Field in Phoenix, Arizona; his Basic at War Eagle Field in Lancaster, California; and his Advanced, Class 44-F, at Pecos Field, Pecos, Texas, where he earned his wings and commission as a Second Lieutenant. He was assigned as a co-pilot to the 323rd Bomb Squadron (“The Devil’s Wrath”), 91st Bomb Group (Heavy) (“Triangle A” tail markings), Eighth Air Force (“The Mighty Eighth”) and was sent overseas in late December 1944 where the 91st Bomb Group flew missions out of RAF Bassingbourn AAF-121, England.

RAF Bassingbourn (AAF Station 121) is located in Cambridgeshire, 3 miles north of Royston, Hertfordshire and 11 miles southwest of Cambridge, England. The 91st Bomb Group, equipped with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers, moved into Bassingbourn on 14 October 1942. The bombing missions of the 91st initially concentrated against the German submarine campaign, attacking U-boat pens in French ports or construction yards in Germany. Secondary targets were Luftwaffe airfields, industrial targets, and marshalling yards. From the middle of 1943 until the war ended, the Group engaged chiefly in attacks on aircraft factories, aerodromes, oil facilities, chemical industries, and ball-bearing plants. The 91st occupied AAF-121, from October 14, 1942 to June 23, 1945.

On January 14, 1945, 2 Lt. Otting departed AAF-121 as the co-pilot of B-17G #43-38911 (nicknamed “Bull Session” after the pilot) on a mission to bomb the Deutz highway bridge and rail marshalling yards at Koln (Cologne), Germany. They were flying over the front lines at 21,000 feet when they encountered moderate but very accurate flak. They received a direct hit from an 88mm anti-aircraft shell directly in the mid-ship, instantly exploding. The plane nosed downward and went into a steep dive, out of control. The wings dropped off, the nose, mid-section, and tail all came apart, and it was seen crashing into the ground and exploding. One chute was seen floating in the air. No search was made. MACR 11772

2 Lt. Otting was killed in action on January 14, 1945 when the B-17 on which he was the co-pilot was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed. The plane crashed at Wincrange, Luxembourg, 31 miles north-northwest of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, 294 miles southeast of AAF-121. He was 20 years old.

Only one man, the bombardier, 2 Lt. James D. Buescher, survived because he was blown clear out of the nose section and managed to open his chute. He was soon captured, became a POW, and spent 105 days in captivity before being liberated by General Patton’s army in April 1945. He died on January 13, 2015.

The Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) indicates this aircraft crashed to the ground in the vicinity 50, 02’05.23 N, 6.10’28.13” E. The members of the crew were:

◼ 2 Lt. William E Meyer :: Pilot

◼ 2 Lt. Laurin P Otting :: Co-Pilot

◼ 2 Lt. James D Buescher :: Bombardier

◼ 2 Lt. Nello F Fiorio :: Navigator

◼ Sgt. Robert P Garrett :: Tail Gunner

◼ Sgt. Michael Holowaty :: Top Turret Gunner

◼ Sgt. Arthur W Miller Jr :: Ball Turret Gunner

◼ Sgt. Robert M Wagner :: Waist Gunner

◼ Sgt. Stephen P Wulderk :: Radio Operator

In 2017, the WWII Battlefield Research and Preservation Group conducted a detailed search for the aircraft and the remaining missing crew members. The reference, https://lb.wwiibrpg.org/active-projects, describes the very exhaustive search and analysis that was conducted in 2017, updated in 2022, and is still ongoing. Two of the crew have not been found and remain Missing in Action.

Debris from the aircraft after it hit the ground was scattered along a 15 km (9.3 mile) path. Some aircraft debris landed in a wooded area off the main crash path, as well as the body of the pilot, 2 Lt. Meyer, who was found buried in a shallow civilian grave, discovered in 1946. The remains of 2 Lt. Otting, the Co-Pilot, and the Navigator (2 Lt. Fiorio) were also found nearby and were buried temporarily in a nearby village cemetery by Germans.

In a second debris area, three bodies were found, Sgt. Garret (tail gunner), Sgt. Wagner (waist gunner), and Sgt. Miller (ball turret gunner). Two crewmen have not been found, and remain Missing in Action, Sgt. Holowaty (top turret gunner) and Sgt. Wulderk (radio operator).

In the group photo of the crew of the “Bull Session” the crew members are:

Front row, L-R: 2 Lt. William E. Meyer, 2 Lt. Laurin P. Otting, 2 Lt. James D. Buescher, 2 Lt. Nello R. Fiorio

Rear Row, L-R: Sgt. Stephen P. Wulderk, Sgt. Michael Holowaty, Sgt. Robert P. Garrett, Sgt. Robert M. Wagner, Sgt. Arthur W. Miller

2 LT. Otting is buried in the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Plot F, Row 14, Grave 15, Plombières, Belgium, two miles northwest of Henri-Chapelle, Belgium, and 20 miles east of Liège. This cemetery honors the remains of 7,987 fallen Americans. The graves are placed in arcs across gently sloped lawns. Twelve pairs of columns on the memorial plaza present the names of 450 Americans whose bodies were never found.

There is a memorial to the 323rd Bomb Squadron in Bassingbourne, England, dedicated to the airmen who flew B-17s on combat missions out of AAF-121, located at A1198 Old North Road, Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire, England:

IN MEMORY OF AND DEDICATED TO

THE 323RD BOMB SQUADRON AIRMAN OF THE

91ST BOMB GROUP (HEAVY), 8TH AIR FORCE,

USAAF STATION 121, BASSINGBOURN, ENGLAND

During World War II, from November 7, 1942 to June 23, 1945, there were 105 B-17 bombers of the 323rd Bomb Squadron parked and serviced on nine “pads” that were concealed among an avenue of stately elm trees that stretched from Wimpole Hall to the Huntingdon/Royston Road. Fifty-two of the bombers were lost to enemy action while flying 330 daylight missions against Hitler’s Europe, killing 227 airmen. 215 became prisoners of war, and 12 evaded capture. The squadron’s B-17 “Nine-O-Nine” flew an amazing 8th Air Force record of 140 casualty-free missions, from December 30, 1943 to June 9, 1945 (VE-Day).